Prior art gimballing systems for small missiles have prsented difficult design problems. Design objectives invariably require minimum swept volume for the sensing device (usually an antenna) which is gimballed. At the same time, systems frequently require included sweep angles of around 140.degree.. Designers have long been faced with the problem of generating maximum sweep angles while maintaining minimum swept volume.
As output power requirements are increased in such systems, it has become more and more difficult to deliver that power to the element which is gimballed. While it is possible in low power systems to use flexible coaxial cable for this purpose, it becomes less practical to do so in higher power systems. As the result of increased sweep rates, the cable is frequently flexed beyond its limit and fails in use. When heavier cable is used in an effort to avoid this problem, higher torques are required from the gimbal drive motors thereby having a detrimental effect on system expense, weight and/or response time.